In 2014, there were 10 reported murders and eight of those were classified as a homicide. According to the Watsonville police department, most of the homicides were gang related.

Rape decreased by 31 percent; however, robberies rose by 18 percent. Make sure to lock your cars because there has been a 36 percent increase of car theft.

Although Watsonville’s overall crime rate increased, the number of arrests decreased. In 2014, Watsonville police officers arrested 2,069 adults and 243 juveniles. This is a 14 percent decrease in adult arrests and a 26 percent decrease in juvenile arrests.

Watsonville PD Crime Analyst, Suzanne Fulton said, “We are optimistic that Measure G will help support better crime analysis, through practices such as CompStat, as well as allow for more support staff and proactive officers to be added to the streets.”